Live it up: 'C'est La Vie' shows off local band's strange swagger

Aarik Danielsen @aarikdanielsen

Wednesday

Feb 13, 2019 at 1:30 PM

Shaggy-dog charms meet a more meticulous, long-hair-do-care approach on “C’est La Vie,” the new record from locals It’s Me: Ross.

Out via a collaboration between Hitt Records and Tell ‘Em Tapes, “C’est La Vie” exhibits the sound and feel of a band unafraid to be itself. Led by frontman Ross Menefee, the band’s credibility comes not through hewing to any scene rules, written or unwritten, but by doing what it pleases — and making its choices sound like the only logical ones.

Four tracks in, “Flowers” perhaps best lays out what It’s Me: Ross can capably accomplish. A completely harmonious clash of sounds greets listeners: jagged guitar licks frame Menefee’s voice, which splits the difference between the laconic singing of Kurt Vile and the sneer of early British punk. As the band, never short on groove, strides along, a saxophone solo breaks through, sending the song to another, dreamier level.

It’s Me: Ross gives zero credence to the notion that saxophone part might not qualify as “cool,” or that guitar solos spread throughout the album aren’t punk or lo-fi enough. There are trace elements of any number of “uncool” acts throughout “C’est La Vie”: the chugging boogie of Grand Funk Railroad, the guitar tone of Bryan Adams, production which calls Dire Straits to mind. But it doesn’t matter — the band mines these influences for whatever gold exists, then pushes forward into a space that is even more punk because it rejects purity tests.

Delights crop up throughout: The dusky acoustic licks of opener “Tired Eyes” gives way to an indie roadhouse jam, punctuated by a delightful, noodling guitar solo. “Now and Then” comes off like a “Twin Peaks” party jam. “Sleep” runs Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound through a dirty, gritty SST Records filter.

Like “Flowers,” “See You On the Other Side” showcases Menefee’s high compositional ceiling. What starts off like a B-grade Pink Floyd pastiche — though it still sounds compelling — finds its way onto the dancefloor, blissing out to disco-jazz vibes.

Another album highlight, “What I’d Give” boasts a massive hook and a charisma that would have landed it at the top of the hour on just about every college-rock station in the 1980s or early ‘90s.

By the time the band reaches its nearly 10-minute closer and title track, It’s Me: Ross has covered a serious swath of sonic ground, tearing up some of the soil and setting up shrines throughout. The band’s perfectly imperfect aesthetic will keep listeners guessing — and smiling. Catch the band late this month at the True/False Film Fest; it will play with Soccer Mommy and Jaunt at a Cafe Berlin showcase on Feb. 28.

adanielsen@columbiatribune.com 573-815-1731

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